WALES will be a divided nation tonight, as it always is when the England football team arrive at a critical point in a major tournament finals.

WALES will be a divided nation tonight, as it always is when the England football team arrive at a critical point in a major tournament finals.

There will be those baying for Roy Hodgson’s men to go out at the quarter-final stage of the Euro 2012 at the hands of Italy, and others who, probably rather less vociferously, would quite like to see them reach the last four.

I have to confess, I veer towards the latter category, but I’m not interested in opening up that ‘should we cheer for the English’ debate here.

Instead, I want to consider whether England can actually get past the Italians and to a stage they have not reached since the heady days of Euro ’96.

The easiest conclusion to reach is that England have not shown remotely enough thus far to justify the belief that they can go far in this competition, and having watched their three games up to now there has to be a great deal of validity in that view.

But there are also a number of more positive elements that give me a sneaking suspicion tonight could end up belonging to the Three Lions.

England do have things going for them, not least the freedom in his favourite position Steven Gerrard has been enjoying up to now. It’s not a surprise he’s been his country’s most influential player in the three group games.

The loss of Frank Lampard to injury has, for me, been a blessing in disguise. Successive England managers have failed to solve the conundrum of fitting both him and Gerrard into the midfield, and it has often led to the Liverpool man being sacrificed by playing out of position.

In that regard, you could draw a likeness between him and James Hook, who has suffered in the same way with the Welsh rugby team.

But Gerrard’s been able to be the central kingpin at this tournament and now there is finally some balance to what England are doing in the engine room.

Defensively, England have the right blend too.

John Terry has his critics, but when you put him alongside someone as quick as Joleon Lescott who can cover the Chelsea man’s lack of pace, then it allows the qualities that Terry does possess – doggedness, organisation, experience – to come to the fore. And it helps too that in Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson, England have plenty of gas at full-back too.

We know that under Hodgson they are disciplined and organised – well, he was once in charge at Inter Milan – but Lady Luck also appears to be on England’s side for once too, as evidenced by the Ukranian ‘goal’ that never was on Tuesday night.

It’s stretching things to claim their name could be on the trophy, but haven’t Chelsea shown us already through their Champions League success what a side supposedly far more limited than its rivals is capable of achieving?

Given the rigidity – and some might say turgidity – of the way England have played at times up to now, then together with the Italians’ reputation for pragmatic, structured, low-risk football, it’s tempting to forecast 0-0 after extra-time tonight and the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

But the irony is that this Italian team, under manager Cesare Prandelli, look far more cavalier and attacking in their outlook than their predecessors have invariably been.

In the likes of Antonio Cassano, Antonio Di Natale and, lest we forget, Mario Balotelli, the Azzurri are not short of potential match-winners with a penchant for flashes of true brilliance.

Prandelli came from Fiorentina, the Spurs of Italy’s Serie A, that is, a club where entertaining football is part its DNA. So maybe the change in approach should have been expected.

Whatever, England have shown that they too can remove the shackles if necessary in the way they came back to beat Sweden 3-2, having been 2-1 down early in the second half.

And in Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck and Gerrard, they are not short of firepower themselves.

Tonight, England are facing a good Italian team, but by no means a great one, and by no means one as bad as that which went out during the group stages of the 2010 World Cup.

I think it’s a very difficult one to call, but I would urge caution among those Welsh watchers writing off England.

Hodgson and company may well go out, but there is definitely a different feel around England this time, expectation is still low despite them having qualified at the top of their group, leaving you feeling they almost have nothing to lose.

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